Away from Konoha
by Nagato3986
Summary: Naruto, cursed and abused in the Fire Country's greatest city, Konoha, finally decides to leave for a better life. Many things await him as he leaves the city gates. He is leaving everything close to him behind, but he is leaving his pain and misery also.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 **New Beginnings **

A young, blonde haired boy was running down the streets. Two men were chasing him.

"You're not going to get away from us!" one of the men shouted.

The young boy ran until he got to his apartment building. He quickly ran up the stairs, took out his keys, and unlocked the door to his apartment. He closed the door and locked it.

"Phew! That was a close call." said Naruto as he was walking away from the door.

He could hear the men cursing because they were too late to catch him. Naruto was used to being chased by people. When the older people caught him, they would scold him about not coming within a few yards of their houses. When he was confronted by young kids and teenagers, he would get beaten up.

"I am really tired of the same people chasing me every day. Those two are real jerks." said Naruto in a low and gruff voice.

Naruto laid down on his bed a quickly fell asleep. The next morning, Naruto made a bowl of ramen and left the apartment. He started walking towards the weapons shop. He needed new weapons because his old ones were all worn out. The owner of the weapons shop was named Izanagi. Izanagi was the only person in all of Konoha who was kind to Naruto.

"So, Naruto, what brings you here?" asked Izanagi.

"I need some new weapons. Mine are all worn out." said Naruto.

Naruto showed Izanagi the old weapons. Izanagi saw that the kunai were dull and the shurikens' sharp ends were broken.

"I'll get you some new shurikens and kunai. Just wait a sec. OK?" said Izanagi.

Naruto nodded. Izanagi moved towards the back room where he stored all the weapons. He brought out a huge box that had a variety of weapons in it. Izanagi told Naruto to pick out the weapons he wanted. Naruto took a 12 kunai, 30 shurikens, 15 paper bombs, 10 flash bombs, and 2 rolls of trap wire.

"How much will this all cost?" asked Naruto.

"Today's your birthday, right?" asked Izanagi.

Naruto nodded.

Izanagi said "You can have the stuff for free. I'll also throw in a katana. Consider it a birthday present."

Wow! Thank you very much!" Naruto said happily.

Naruto took all the stuff that Izanagi gave him and went home. On the way back to his apartment, the two men that were chasing him the day before had finally caught up to Naruto.

"There you are. We were looking for you yesterday. You got lucky, but now, you won't be able to get away from us." said the man in front of Naruto.

Naruto turned around to get away, but the other man was blocking his way. Both of the men started to beat up Naruto. They knocked the weapons Naruto was carrying out of his hands. Young kids saw what the two men were doing and more people started to hurt Naruto. Later, Naruto woke up and it was very late. He saw all the weapons were scattered on the floor. It was lucky for him that no one took his katana. He picked up the weapons and his katana. He started to limp to his apartment. When he got inside, he put the stuff down.

"I'm tired of all this! I hate Konoha!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naruto thought of leaving Konoha many times before, but this time he was really about to leave. That night, Naruto packed his weapons, a first aid kit, a tent wrapped in a small bag, a large package containing many food products, a water container, and his katana. Early in the morning, Naruto went by the weapon shop. Izanagi was there checking the inventory.

"Hey Izanagi!" called Naruto.

"Naruto! What are you doing here so early?" asked Izanagi.

Naruto explained to Izanagi how he was tired of the horrible way he was treated by the people in Konoha. He also told Izanagi that he was leaving Konoha.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Izanagi in a depressed tone.

"Yes. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I will never forget you. Goodbye." said Naruto.

"Goodbye and good luck." said Izanagi.

Both of them were blinded by tears as soon as they separated. Naruto started towards the village gate. When he got there he stopped to remember all the good times he had at Konoha no matter how few there were. He remembered the first time he met Izanagi. He also remembered when Izanagi bought 

Naruto his apartment. He also remembered when he received the katana from Izanagi a couple of days ago. Naruto was now ready to leave Konoha.

"It's time for a new beginning." said Naruto as he left the village to begin his new life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the original Naruto series.**

**This is my second chapter on fanfiction. Please leave some reviews. I'd really appreciate it. **

_Writing Terms_

"talking"

'thoughts'

"**Kyuubi"**

Chapter 2 **Forest of Fears**

Naruto was now leaving Konoha knowing he wouldn't be back for a long time. He took a trail that had originally been made for ninja that were leaving the village for missions. It was very early in the morning, so no one was traveling on that road. Naruto was scared because he didn't know what was outside the village walls. He had never left the village before. This was all new to him.

'I wonder if anyone in the village will notice that I'm gone.' thought Naruto.

Hours later in the Academy

'Hm. Where is Naruto? It's not like him to be this late.' thought one of the instructors in the Academy.

The instructor questioned some of the children asking if they saw Naruto on their way to the Academy.

'He must be sick or something. Today's going to be a good day without that demon brat.' thought the instructor.

At the end of the trail

"Well, I guess the road ends here." said Naruto.

Naruto was staring into a thick forest. He was scared to find out what was inside the forest. He knew that he would have to get through the forest to continue his journey. After a few moments of hesitating he finally gathered his courage and entered the thick, dark forest.

'Man, it's really dark here. How can ninjas travel through this darkness?' thought Naruto.

The forest had absolutely no light. Hardly anything could be seen. On top of that, there was a lot of mist in the forest, making it even harder to see anything. Occasionally, Naruto would hit his head on a branch or trip on a rock.

'How the heck am I ever going to get out of here?' thought Naruto.

Suddenly, a noise of a large animal was heard from a distance. Naruto thought it was just his imagination. Then, he heard the noise again.

'What was that noise? This is scary. I need to find a way out, and quick!' thought Naruto.

He suddenly felt the ground shaking and fell to the floor. Then, all the trees were knocked down and Naruto saw a giant snake heading straight towards him.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!!" screamed Naruto.

Naruto was frantically ran away, hoping that the snake didn't see him. Unfortunately, the snake was chasing him. At that moment, Naruto completely blacked out.

Deep in Naruto's mind

Naruto awoke and found himself in a corridor.

'Hm. I wonder where this leads.' thought Naruto.

Naruto walked through the corridor and made it to the end. At the end was a huge gate that had a paper seal on it to keep it closed.

"**Hm. So you're the vessel I'm living in huh? Pathetic! You're only a small child." said the anonymous figure.**

"W-who are you?" said Naruto in an alarmed tone.

"**My name is Kyuubi, also known as the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit. Go away you little gaki." said Kyuubi**

"I'm Naruto Uzamaki. So you're the reason that people keep taunting me. Why are you here?" said Naruto.

"**I'm here because I'm trapped by that seal. If you can remove…" Naruto immediately cut in.**

"Don't even try that with me! I'm not an idiot. If I let you go what will happen to me?" said Naruto.

"**You'd die." Kyuubi replied.**

"What will happen to you?" asked Naruto.

"**I honestly don't know. I think my power will overpower your body and I'd be released." answered Kyuubi.**

"Do you think you can help me?" asked Naruto.

"**What do you mean gaki?" asked Kyuubi.**

"I'm going to be eaten by a snake. If I get eaten while you're in my body, you'd die too, right? said Naruto.

"**I guess so. I'm only doing this because I don't want to die. I'm going to give you some of my power. Get ready." said Kyuubi.**

Naruto was soon surrounded by a certain red chakra.

In the forest

Naruto's body suddenly changed. He had whiskers, claws, and terrifying red eyes. The giant snake was lowering itself so it could eat its food. Naruto quickly jumped out of the way. He jumped on top of the snake. He took out his katana. He released some of Kyuubi's chakra into the katana. He plunged the katana's blade into the head of the giant snake causing a quick and silent death.

'Wow. I'm really strong now. Kyuubi's chakra saved my life. Thanks a lot.' thought Naruto.

Since most of the forest was cleared, it was easy for him to find a way out of the forest. Now that he was out of the forest, he was able to continue his journey away from Konoha.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own any characters from the original Naruto series.**

Thanks for the replies from some of you. This is my third chapter. Hope you like it.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 3  Yasuko

Naruto had just gotten out of the forest and was all scratched up by the fight with the giant snake. Naruto blacked out a couple of minutes later. When he woke up, it was very dark outside.

'It's too dark to travel. I think I'll put up my tent for now and leave in the morning.' thought Naruto.

Naruto opened his pack and took out supplies for setting up the tent. Ten minutes later, he had built his tent and broke branches from the surrounding trees for firewood. He started the fire with a match and cooked some ramen. The only food product he brought for his journey away from the village was his favorite food, ramen. After Naruto finished his dinner, he went inside his tent and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Naruto had gathered all of his things and went on his way. While he was traveling, he came across a small town. Naruto noticed that no one was being rude or making dirty faces at him.

"Hm. Maybe these people don't know who I am. No one's being mean to me or hurting me. I sure am glad I left Konoha." Naruto said to himself.

Naruto went to a local market and bought a few onigiris for lunch and a water bottle. He found a tree to sit under and had his lunch.

'Things are way more peaceful here than in Konoha.' thought Naruto.

As Naruto was gathering his things, he heard shouts coming from the town. He saw a young girl, around the age of ten, running from three men. The men were tired and stopped chasing the girl. Naruto saw that the girl had settled herself in a nearby bush.

'I wonder what happened.' thought Naruto.

He walked to the bush and tiptoed nearer until he was met with a kunai directly in front of his face.

"Hey! Get that thing away from me!" yelled Naruto as he stumbled backward onto the grass.

"What do you want?" said the girl as she jumped out of the bush.

As Naruto was going to ask her a question, she was grabbed by two of the three men that were chasing her a couple of minutes ago. The third man walked up to her.

"We finally caught you!" yelled the man.

"What did she do?" asked Naruto.

"She stole food from my store. What are you doing with her? Were you helping her hide!?" yelled the man.

"No! I didn't do anything! I swear!" yelled Naruto in fear.

The man didn't believe Naruto. He told one of his friends to take Naruto along with the girl. When they got back in town, they were thrown into the town prison.

"You guys are in big trouble." said the guard.

Both the girl and Naruto shared a prison cell.

"Aw man! I need to get out of here!" yelled the girl.

"Me too." said Naruto.

It was getting dark and both were complaining about their situation.

"There has to be a way out of here!" yelled the girl.

"Do you want some help?" asked Naruto.

"What? Why would you want to help me?" asked the girl.

"So we can get out of here, and so I can stop hearing you complain." said Naruto.

"What escape plan do you have in mind?" asked the girl.

Naruto whispered a plan he used when he was put in jail for no reason.

"That plan just might work." said the girl in a happy tone.

Naruto and the girl waited until it was sunset. The girl took out a kunai that had a rope attached at the end. She threw the kunai in the middle of the wall and yanked it out as hard as she could. She yanked the kunai out so hard that it took out a chunk of the wall. When the chunk was pulled out, the wall started crumbling and the wall fell down. The guard ran in the direction of the sound. His running turned into walking as he slowly reached the broken wall. As the guard passed by, Naruto quickly tried to take the keys from the guard's belt, trying not to make a sound. The guard slapped Naruto's before he could grab the keys.

"Nice try." said the guard sarcastically.

As the guard was walking towards the broken wall, Naruto began smiling.

"Did he see you put the bomb on him?" asked the girl.

"Nope. Just like I said. He thought I was trying to take the keys." replied Naruto.

The guard had already checked the wall and was walking back down the hall.

"Quick, put on the sunglasses." said the girl.

Naruto put on his sunglasses before the guard walked in front of their cell. As the guard passed by, Naruto activated the bomb. The bomb lit up and burst into a blinding light. While the guard was blinded by the light, Naruto took the keys. As the light faded away the guard started freaking out.

"Who did this!?" yelled the guard.

"Let's wait a bit so he can calm down and we can get out of here without getting noticed." said Naruto.

An hour later, Naruto took the keys and unlocked their cell door. They both left through the opening in the wall.

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Naruto.

"What?" said the girl.

"Why did you steal from that man's store?" asked Naruto.

"I don't have any money and I ran out of food a couple of days ago, so I stole some food from that man's store." replied the girl.

"Do you want some ramen? I have some to share." offered Naruto.

"Sure. Thanks." said the girl.

Naruto started a fire and cooked both of the some ramen.

"It's really nice of you to share your food with me." said the girl.

"No problem." replied Naruto.

The girl fell asleep after eating. Naruto soon fell asleep, too. The next morning Naruto gathered all of his things. The girl woke up and saw Naruto putting things in his bag.

"Thanks for the food." said the girl.

"You're welcome. So, where are you going now?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know. I don't have anywhere to go." said the girl.

"You can come with me if you want." said Naruto.

"Really!? Thanks so much!" happily said the girl.

"But first, can you tell me your name?" asked Naruto.

"I haven't told you my name yet? You think I would've by now. Well, my name is Yasuko. What's yours?" asked Yasuko.

"My name is Naruto." replied Naruto.

Both were cleaning the area of the trash left from the night before.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Naruto.

"All set." replied Yasuko.

Both were on the road continuing their journey away from their hometowns. Naruto had just made a new friend. What will happen next on their journey?


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello. I just posted information on the chapters that I'm making. It will either say **_**released**_** or **_**will come out in a couple of days.**_** Thank you for reading this, and now for my fifth chapter.**

"talking"

'thinking'

"**Kyuubi"**

Chapter 4

The Wall of Iwagakure

Naruto and Yasuko were now traveling together. They both noticed a faraway mountain range. Both of them didn't know where they were.

"Naruto, did you bring a map?" asked Yasuko.

"Let me check." said Naruto as he was taking off his backpack.

Naruto searched his backpack thoroughly, checking every pocket and every opening for a map of the Land of Fire.

"I found it!" exclaimed Naruto waving the map in the air.

"Let me see. Hm, there's no mountain range shown on the map. Here, you look at it." said Yasuko.

Yasuko handed the map of the Land of Fire back to Naruto.

"Huh? You're right, there isn't a mountain range on this map." said Naruto.

"I say we check it out." said Yasuko.

"Why?" asked Naruto.

"Because I want to see what's behind the mountain range." replied Yasuko.

Then, the two of them began walking in the direction of the mountain range. The road to the mountain range was jagged and difficult to walk through. There were many boulders that were blocking most of the path. They had to be careful going around the boulders because the road was right off a cliff.

While they were still traveling, a boulder was rolling down the side of the road and was heading straight for Naruto.

"Naruto, watch out!" yelled Yasuko.

Naruto braced himself for the impact of the boulder.

"Move out of the way!" said Yasuko as she pushed him out of the way.

"Earth Style; Earth Wall!" said Yasuko as she made a hand seal.

Suddenly, a giant wall made of stone came up out of the ground. The boulder hit the wall and rolled over the side of the cliff.

"What were you doing?! You're not supposed to stand still in a situation like that!" scolded Yasuko.

"That wasn't a boulder." said Naruto.

"What do you mean?! That thing almost…" said Yasuko as she was cut off by Naruto.

"It was a ninja using a transformation jutsu. My guess is that someone doesn't want us to get to the mountain range." said Naruto.

Yasuko looked down the side of the cliff to see a man lying on the ground, unconscious.

"How did you know it was a person." asked Yasuko.

"If you release some chakra into your eyes, you would be able to see through transformations, shadow clones, and a few genjutsu techniques. It's not as powerful as the Byakugan, but it works well enough to sense chakra activity. I learned it at the Academy in Konohagakure." said Naruto.

Both continued their journey to the mountain range. On their way, they encountered many ninja using Earth Style techniques and transformations. Every once in a while, Naruto would create a few shadow clones to keep an eye out for any ninja trying to attack.

"We're here!" yelled Yasuko as they made it to the side of the mountain range.

Naruto examined the side of the mountain range.

"Watch out!" shouted Naruto.

Three ninja came out of the mountain side. All of them drew out a giant boulder from the mountain and threw it at Naruto and Yasuko. Yasuko tried the technique that Naruto explained to her before. She released a small amount of chakra into her eyes. She looked at the boulder and saw two ninja charging at them.

"Naruto, there are two of them!" yelled Yasuko.

Naruto quickly created six shadow clones. Two shadow clones swept the legs of the two ninja. Another four kicked them into the air. The last two appeared in the air in front of the ninja and drop kicked them. The two ninja fell head first into the ground.

"Good job, Naruto. Now it's my turn." said Yasuko.

Yasuko preformed the _tiger _hand seal.

"Earth Style; Landslide!" shouted Yasuko.

Parts of the mountain side started crumbling and giant boulders were rolling in the direction of the other three ninja. All three were knocked unconscious by large rocks that hit their heads.

"Alright! We did it!" cheered Yasuko.

"Let's get going before other ninja come to get us." said Naruto.

Both of them kept alongside the mountain. The mountain range didn't seem to end. The mountain had pictures on them that looked like they were drawn by children.

"If there are pictures here, then that means there are people around here, and if there are people, then that means that there is a village nearby." said Yasuko.

"Maybe there's a road to a village near the end of the mountain." said Naruto.

Both had been traveling alongside the mountain for about two hours. They hadn't seen a road leading away from the mountain and they were really tired.

"Naruto, wait a second. Let me sit down for a little bit." said Yasuko.

Yasuko sat down on a small rock. Suddenly, the rock sank into the ground. A large opening appeared on the mountain side.

"An opening? Why didn't I realize it before? No wonder we couldn't find the mountain range on the map. We're in the Land of Earth, not the Land of Fire." said Naruto.

"Where are we in the Land of Earth?" asked Yasuko.

"Let me think. I got it! In the Academy, they told us that Iwagakure was hidden inside of a mountain. I also learned that there are several openings around the mountain, leading to Iwagakure. That must've been the way that those ninja appeared out of the ground. They came through one of the tunnels from the village." said Naruto.

"So are we going into the opening?" asked Yasuko.

They went into the opening. They continued until Yasuko tripped on a trap wire. The tunnel was caving in.

"Naruto, my Earth Wall can't stop the rocks from crushing us! What are we going to do?!" asked Yasuko.

Naruto had no idea of what to do.

'I need to do something or else we'll be crushed. But what do I do?' thought Naruto.

"**Hey kid. You need some help?" asked Kyuubi.**

'You think?! Please, I beg you, give me some of your chakra.' said Naruto speaking to Kyuubi through his thoughts.

Naruto, once again, felt the chakra rush throughout his body. His body was glowing orange and red from the chakra seeping through his skin. Naruto now had sort of a fox-like appearance. Naruto then preformed a few hand seals.

"Earth Style; Earth Dragon Missile" shouted Nine-tailed Naruto.

A dragon made of rock came out of the ground and forcefully rammed through all of the rocks that were coming their way. The jutsu was so powerful that all of the rocks turned into dust.

"**I'll be taking the rest of my chakra back before you over exhaust your body" said Kyuubi.**

Naruto felt all of the chakra leave his body. His body felt heavy and he was extremely exhausted. The chakra was pure energy and completely shut down most of his senses due to the extreme power the chakra held. He could still see, and he noticed the entrance to the village.

"C'mon Yasuko. There's the entrance." said Naruto slowly walking to the entrance.

"Let me help you." said Yasuko.

"Thanks." said Naruto.

Yasuko put Naruto's arm aroundher shoulder and helped him walk to the entrance. Then, they felt sunlight on their skin. They saw massive buildings and many people. There was a stream that people were gathering water from. There were many beautiful cherry blossom trees with their leaves floating in the gentle breeze that came down from the mountain top.

"We are here. We are in Iwagakure ." said Naruto as he fell asleep due to exhaustion.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews. Once again, I would like to say that my profile says when my new chapters are about to be released. Also, read a special announcement on my profile. OK, I guess that's it. This is my fifth chapter. Hope you like it. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS. **

"talking"

'thinking'

"**Kyuubi"**

Chapter 5

Art is a Bang

Naruto finally woke up after passing out at the entrance of Iwagakure. It was early in morning.

"You're finally awake. You've been asleep for a while, now." said Yasuko.

"What happened?" said Naruto as he was getting out of his sleeping bag.

"You passed out right when we got here. Now let me ask you a question. Where did that red chakra come from?" said Yasuko.

"Um…..Let's take a look around the village." said Naruto.

Naruto got up and ran outside of the inn they were staying at. Yasuko ran after him.

"Naruto, answer my question!" yelled Yasuko.

"Sorry, I can't hear you!" Naruto yelled back.

Both were running through the city. Yasuko was still trying to catch up to Naruto. Soon after, she gave up and waited for Naruto to slow down. A few minutes later, Yasuko was able to catch up to Naruto.

"If you didn't want to answer my question, you could've just said so. Well, where are we going to go now?" said Yasuko.

"I'm going to get some more supplies. You can go looking around the village if you want to." said Naruto.

"You said you wanted to look around the village." said Yasuko.

"I'll meet up with you after I'm done getting the supplies." said Naruto.

Yasuko went looking around the village. The village was very beautiful. The mountains carried a stream from its peak to the village. Many cherry blossom trees grew near the stream. Colorful flowers grew in the streets of the village. Yasuko sat down under a cherry blossom tree and fell asleep.

Naruto went searching through the village for a food store that sold ramen. There was only one store in the entire village that sold ramen. It was all the way at the end of the village. Naruto bought seven cases of ramen and a pack of water bottles. When Naruto came out of the store, he noticed a flyer about an art show.

'Maybe Yasuko and I could go today.' thought Naruto.

Naruto took the flyer and went back to the inn.

Yasuko woke up an hour later. She also went back to the inn.

"Hey Yasuko. Where were you?" asked Naruto.

"I took a nap near the stream." replied Yasuko.

"Oh, Ok. Look at this flyer. There's supposed to be an art show in the center of the village today. Do you want to go?" said Naruto.

"Sure, that sounds like fun." said Yasuko.

Both of them left an hour later for the art show. When they got there, they saw wonderful works of art. There were paintings and sculptures made of many materials.

"Wow. These paintings are beautiful." said Yasuko.

"I like this sculpture." said Naruto.

Naruto was admiring the sculpture that looked like a giant eagle.

"Thank you for your comment on my sculpture." said a man standing near the sculpture.

The man was wearing a hood over his head and gloves on his hands.

"Um….You're welcome." said Naruto.

As Naruto and Yasuko walked away, the man stepped behind the sculpture.

"Fools. If I want to get into the Akatsuki, this art show has to end in a bang…ummm!" said the man.

Naruto and Yasuko continued looking at more art. Naruto noticed many sculptures that looked like the bird sculpture they saw earlier.

'That guy must have a lot of time on his hands if he was able to make this many sculptures.' thought Naruto.

Naruto went closer to one of the sculptures. He could see that it took a long time to make. When he came closer, he smelled something familiar.

_Flashback_

Naruto was walking back home after finishing his work at the Academy. He got to his apartment, unlocked the door, and went inside. When he was inside, there was a strong smell in the air.

'What's that smell?' thought Naruto.

Suddenly, the apartment exploded. Apparently, there were C-4 explosives planted in Naruto's apartment.

_End of Flashback_

"Yasuko, come over here for a sec." said Naruto.

"What?" asked Yasuko.

"Stand near this sculpture." said Naruto.

Yasuko walked up to the sculpture.

"Do you smell anything?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, the sculpture sort of smells like gun powder." said Yasuko.

"I think this is made out of C-4 clay. Someone nearly destroyed my apartment using this stuff." said Naruto.

"This is really bad. I saw at least fifty sculptures like this one. We need to find the guy who made these sculptures." said Yasuko.

Naruto and Yasuko searched the entire city looking for the person who made all the C-4 sculptures. The last place they checked was the entrance of the village.

"He has to be here. We checked everywhere in the village and we still haven't found him." said Yasuko.

"Look! There he is!" cried Naruto.

The man was about to leave the village before Naruto created four shadow clones to block the exit.

"What's going on…ummm?" said the man.

"We know the sculptures are made of C-4. What the heck is wrong with you?!" shouted Yasuko.

"So you know about the C-4…ummm?" asked the man.

"Yeah. Why are you doing this?!" yelled Naruto.

"Why do you need to know…ummm?" asked the man.

"Because you're about to kill thousands of innocent people!" yelled Yasuko.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto.

"I am Deidara." said Deidara.

"You better not start those explosives or else!" yelled Naruto.

"Or else, what…ummm?" asked Deidara.

"Ninja Art; Nerve Confusion!" shouted Naruto.

Naruto appeared behind Deidara and shot a small amount of chakra into his head.

"Huh? That's it? You're really weak…ummm!" said Deidara.

Deidara tried to move his arm and one of his legs kicked into the air.

"W-What's happening…ummm?" said Deidara.

"The technique I used was called Nerve Confusion. By attacking the base of the brain with chakra converted into electricity, I am able to change the brain's movement signals to the arms and legs." said Naruto.

"What?! You mean I'm stuck like this?!" shouted Deidara.

"It only lasts for an amount of time. By the time your body's back to normal, the bombs would already be out of the village." said Naruto.

_Near the location of Deidara_

"Hm. Looks like Deidara isn't worthy of joining the Akatsuki." said a mysterious voice.

"No Kisame. Deidara already informed me of his plan. He made certain precautions in case a situation like this happened." said another voice.

"Deidara is just a boy. Why is he joining the Akatsuki so early, Itachi?" said Kisame.

"Because of his special ability." said Itatchi.

_Location of Deidara_

Deidara started to laugh.

"My bombs are activated by voice command. All I have to do is say the secret word and the bombs explode…ummm." said Deidara.

Yasuko ran toward the village center. Yasuko told everyone about the bombs. No one believed her. She took most of the sculptures out of the art show.

"Hey! Bring back those sculptures!" said a man chasing Yasuko.

The man chased her for at least five minutes before activating a trap that Yasuko had placed for him. A rope wrapped around the man's leg and hung him upside-down.

_Back at the exit of Iwagakure_

'Where is Yasuko? My Jutsu is about to wear out.' thought Naruto.

Yasuko was seen carrying a large bag.

"Bang!" yelled Deidara.

Suddenly, the bag exploded.

"Yasuko!!" yelled Naruto.

"Now your friend is gone and you're next!" yelled Deidara walking over to Naruto.

'Oh no! My Jutsu wore out!' thought Naruto.

Deidara removed his gloves, revealing mouths on each hand. Deidara took some clay out of his pouch, and the mouths on his hands formed the clay into small insects. Deidara walked unsteadily toward Naruto, still under the effect of the Nerve Confusion technique. It wasn't as powerful as it was when the full effect took place.

"I'm going to finish you off…ummm!" said Deidara.

'No…I won't let him do this! Kyuubi, please, I'm not asking for much, just give me enough power to protect the people of Iwagakure, please!' pleaded Naruto in his thoughts.

"**Fine. You better not get us killed, kid." said Kyuubi.**

The strange sensation filled Naruto's body once more. Red chakra surrounded his body. He also gained the momentary appearance of a fox.

"I will destroy you!!" yelled Naruto.

Naruto charged at Deidara at an incredibly high speed. Naruto scratched Deidara's face with his claws. Deidara threw an insect bomb at Naruto. It made a huge explosion.

"Hm. Stupid kid…ummm." said Deidara.

Naruto suddenly leapt out of nowhere and threw eight kunai at Deidara. Five of them hit his chest. Deidara started screaming. He held a spot on his chest where his heart was supposed to be. A kunai had landed there as well. Naruto noticed a large tear in his shirt. On Deidara's chest he noticed a scar, sown together with strand writings around it.

'That scar must be extremely sensitive. That's probably why he's screaming.' thought Naruto.

Deidara got back up and was still willing to fight. Naruto and Deidara fought for at least an hour. Naruto kept aiming for the scar. He would sometimes put some of the red chakra in the kunai to make the hit more effective. Deidara would send many bug and bird bombs to quickly expose of Naruto. Naruto would create a shadow clone or a shield of chakra to protect himself.

Deidara was running at Naruto and stepped on a trap wire. Millions of needles came out of nowhere and hit Deidara in every single part of his body. Deidara collapsed from the severe pain he felt on his chest.

"Nailed him!" yelled Yasuko.

"Yasuko, your alive!" happily yelled Naruto.

"I used a Substitution Jutsu. Are you okay Naruto?" said Yasuko.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" asked Naruto.

"You look like a fox." said Yasuko.

Suddenly, two men in black cloaks with red clouds on them appeared. One of them grabbed Deidara by his arms.

"Sorry, but we'll be taking him now." said the mysterious Itachi.

The three disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I wonder what that was all about." said Yasuko.

The two men were already outside the mountain wall of Iwagakure.

"The leader will be glad to find out that we spotted the Nine-Tailed Fox." said Kisame.

"Let's help Deidara for now. To think he was dumb enough to fight the Kyuubi." said Kisame.

Back at Iwagakure, Naruto and Yasuko were packing their things.

"We need to go. Too bad though. This is a really nice village." said Yasuko.

"We need to start training for fights like this in the future." said Naruto.

"Naruto, you've been hiding something from me ever since we met. I think it's time to tell me what you've been hiding." said Yasuko.


	6. Chapter 6

**Finally, my writers block is gone! I've been staying up for a while trying to think of a chapter. Hope you like it! Leave a review because I worked really hard on this!**

"talking"

'thinking'

"**Tailed Beast"**

Chapter 6

The Tailed Beasts

"You're the Nine-Tailed Fox?" asked Yasuko.

"Yes. I'm sorry for not telling you." said Naruto.

"Ok." said Yasuko.

"Ok? You're not mad?" asked Naruto.

"No. Why should I be?" asked Yasuko.

"I thought you'd be scared of me or something like that…" said Naruto.

"Can you control the Fox?" asked Yasuko.

"Sort of. I can talk to him and ask for chakra." said Naruto.

"Ok. Then there's nothing to worry about." said Yasuko.

'How can she be so calm about this?' thought Naruto.

"Are we going?" asked Yasuko.

"Huh…oh, yeah. Let's go." said Naruto.

Naruto and Yasuko had already left the perimeter of Iwagakure. They've been walking since dawn. It was afternoon when they reached a large field. They set up for lunch. They made a fire to cook the ramen that Naruto bought. Yasuko bought dumplings for herself because she was getting sick of eating ramen every day. Once they were done eating, they picked up their things and left.

"So, where are we going next?" asked Yasuko.

"Let me check." said Naruto.

Naruto checked the map to see what village they were closest to.

"We're here, and the nearest village is…" said Naruto.

"Well?" asked Yasuko.

"The nearest village is on Crescent Moon Island." said Naruto.

"Isn't that a restricted area?" asked Yasuko.

"Yeah, I don't understand it either. Why would they put a village on a restricted island?" said Naruto.

"So, are we going there?" asked Yasuko.

"Yep." replied Naruto.

Both headed toward the coast line of the Earth Country to see if a boat was going to Crescent Moon Island. All of the sailors laughed when they heard Naruto and Yasuko ask about a boat to the island.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Naruto.

"Buy a canoe I guess." said Yasuko.

"I don't have enough yen to buy a canoe." said Naruto.

"Ok. Wait a sec." said Yasuko.

Yasuko went away for a couple of minutes. Suddenly, Naruto heard a loud crash. He noticed Yasuko dragging a tree towards the beach.

'Kyuubi, remind me not to get on her bad side.' said Naruto to Kyuubi through his thoughts.

"**I've never seen a girl with that kind of strength since the First Hokage's granddaughter." said Kyuubi.**

"Alright! Let's make a canoe!"yelled Yasuko.

Naruto stared while she carved a canoe out of the tree she took down. She also made two paddles out of the remaining scraps of wood.

"**She scares me." said Kyuubi.**

'Me too.' thought Naruto.

"Well, are we going?" said Yasuko.

"Huh…oh, yeah." said Naruto

"Are you ok?" asked Yasuko.

"Yeah, let's just go." said Naruto.

Naruto and Yasuko pushed the canoe into the water. They both jumped in and immediately began paddling. The water was murky and had the smell of sulfur. The waves were calm until they were halfway to the Crescent Moon Island. They stated hearing strange sounds coming from the water. It wasn't anything having to do with the weather because the sky was completely clear. Something was coming. They just didn't know what.

Suddenly, the waves got bigger as they got closer to the island. Whirlpools started appearing out of nowhere. Then, a monster came out of the water. It looked like a giant turtle.

'Kyuubi, what is that thing?!' yelled Naruto to Kyuubi.

"**That's Sanbi the Three-Tailed Beast. He's not very smart, but he's strong, so be careful. I'll lend you some of my power." said Kyuubi.**

Naruto changed into the fox-like form he gains after the red chakraentered his body.

"Yasuko, be careful, alright." said Naruto.

"Got it." said Yasuko.

Naruto ran on top of the water towards Sanbi. He jumped on top of his arm and ran until he reached Sanbi's face. Naruto tried to scratch Sanbi's face, but missed. Sanbi shook Naruto of his body. Naruto fell into the water.

"Naruto" yelled Yasuko.

She ran toward Naruto and tried to catch him. By the time she had gotten to where Naruto was, Naruto was already in the water. Yasuko immediately stopped her flow of chakra so she could dive into the water and save Naruto. The water felt like ice as she dived into the water. Naruto was about to pass out, but Yasuko was able to pull him out of the water before he did. Naruto gasped for air and managed to utter a couple of words.

"Thank you." said Naruto before he started gasping for air once more.

As soon as he gained his balance, Naruto rocketed toward Sanbi's face once again. He was able to land a swift punch on Sanbi's cheek. Due to the power of the red chakra, the punch became very powerful. It was so powerful that the blow to the cheek caused Sanbi to become unbalanced.

"Nice shot Naruto!" exclaimed Yasuko.

By this time Yasuko had already thought of a plan that might stun the ponderous creature long enough for them to get away. While Naruto continued to fight Sanbi, Yasuko was tying many paper bombs to a very long wire.

"Naruto, get on the canoe!" commanded Yasuko.

Naruto quickly jumped off the left shoulder of the giant turtle.

"What's going on?" asked Naruto.

"I'll be right back." said Yasuko.

She jumped off the canoe and headed toward Sanbi. She ran up his right arm, trying to reach Sanbi's head. She wrapped the string full of paper bombs around the neck of the turtle. She quickly jumped off Sanbi and landed on the canoe.

"Let's go, now!" demanded Yasuko in a shaky tone.

Since Naruto still had some red chakra left, he decided to use it to paddle the canoe. As soon as his hand touched the water, Naruto let out some chakra. The chakra was used like a propeller, causing the canoe to move quickly. When they were at a safe distance away from Sanbi, Yasuko preformed a hand sign.

"Bye-Bye." said Yasuko.

With those words, the paper bombs created an enormous explosion that could be seen from the beach that Naruto and Yasuko left from. Many of the sailors that saw this couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Let's try to reach Crescent Moon Island before anything else happens." said Yasuko.

"**How does she think of these things? These traps that she sets, where does she learn them?" questioned Kyuubi.**

'I don't know.' said Naruto, telepathically speaking to Kyuubi.

It had been a while since they had left from the beach. Darkness had crept up the eastern sky. A beautiful sunset could be seen in the west. They had seen the beaches of the Crescent Moon Island while the orange tint of the sun almost completely faded away.

"Finally! We're here!" happily declared Yasuko.

"Ok. Now let's try to find the village. It should be in the middle of…" slurred Naruto.

Naruto passed out on the soft sand of the beach.

"Oh no! Naruto, are you ok?" exclaimed Yasuko in a concerned tone.

She reached over to touch his head. Naruto's forehead felt like a fierce fire to her cold hands.

'His head is really hot. That polluted water must've gotten him sick.' thought Yasuko.

Yasuko moved Naruto to a place where he would be safe. She had heard someone talking about the great supply of medical herbs that could be found on the island. She decided to look for some Raulvolfia Serpentina and Feverfew herbs to lower his blood-pressure and to take his headache away. As she was walking, a voice boomed in her thoughts.

"**I say we ditch the kid. He's only holding you back." said the mysterious voice.**

'Shut up Nibi! He's my friend!' yelled Yasuko telepathically.

"**If he's your friend, then why haven't you told him that you carry the Two-Tailed Cat spirit?" inquired Nibi.**

'I'm not ready to tell him. I will tell him eventually.' said Yasuko telepathically.

After a half-hour of searching for herbs, she heard a rustle in a bush nearby. She ignored it and went back to picking herbs. Suddenly, a man came out of the bush and grabbed Yasuko around the neck.

"Give me your money, or else!" said the man.

Yasuko was able to wiggle her way out of the man's grip. He tried to grab her once more, but Yasuko punched him in the face before he could grab her around the neck. He covered his face with his hands.

'Nibi, give me some power.' said Yasuko telepathically.

A metallic-blue chakra had surrounded her body. The power was so great, that the ground where she stood was shaking. The chakra-formed claw scratched the man on the arm. She sent short bursts of chakra flying toward him. The power of Nibi was extremely overwhelming. All the man could see was a metallic-blue blur a few meters away from him. Soon after, the man had fainted from a blow to the head. The glaring white eyes were the last things he saw.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I've been taking so long to write this chapter. I hope you like this one. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS!!!**

"talking"

'thinking or speaking to Tailed Beast'

"**Tailed Beast"**

Chapter 7

A Snake's Fangs

"What happened?" said Naruto groggily.

"You had a really bad fever and passed out," said Yasuko, putting a wet towel on Naruto's forehead.

The two had finally made it to Crescent Moon Island. It was early in the morning when Naruto said, "Where'd you get those bruises?"

Yasuko said in a quaky voice, "Huh? Oh these," she said. "When I was picking herbs I fell and my neck hit the ground pretty hard."

"Really? They look like someone was trying to choke you." Naruto sat up and felt a sharp pain on his back. "Ouch!"

"Try not to move too much," said Yasuko while boiling some Feverfly roots, "or it'll get worse."

"How'd this happen?" asked Naruto.

Yasuko started, "When you fell off of Sanbi, you landed on your back in the water."

She brought some of the stew she was preparing to Naruto and said "Eat up. It will help you back to your old self again." She took out a spoon from her bag and gave it to Naruto.

Naruto took the spoon and drew some of the stew out of the bowl. When the stew touched his tongue he spat it out and yelled, "Yuck! That's disgusting!"

"You have to eat it or you won't get better." said Yasuko. She grabbed a canteen and said, 'I need to get some fresh water. Stay here, ok?"

"Ok," replied Naruto while reluctantly eating the stew.

Yasuko walked away from the camp she made and went to get more water. She wandered through the woods for about fifteen minutes before hearing the roar of a nearby river. She ran closer to see if it was safe to get some water from there. Once she saw how the slow the river was moving she deemed it safe to get water. Near the location she was in was a man. He had very pale skin and black hair. His eyes were yellow and he wore a large purple bow around his waist.

"Hello my child," said the man.

He had a serpentine hiss in his voice when he spoke.

"Hello," said Yasuko nervously. She took out her canteen and put it in the water. She waited until it was full to the brim. When she got up to leave, the strange man ran up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Now, now, don't be so quick to leave. I would like to talk to you for just a second." said the strange man.

"Let go of me!" screamed Yasuko.

"Yesss, I will in a second. I just need to talk to you," said the serpentine stranger.

"What do you want?!" said Yasuko aggressively.

"My name is Orochimaru. Have you heard of the Nine-Tailed Fox?" said Orochimaru.

"Why?" asked Yasuko, trying to break free of Orochimaru's grasp.

"I have my reasons," said Orochimaru.

"No, I haven't. Let me go!" exclaimed Yasuko.

Orochimaru let her go and the disappeared.

'I wonder why that guy was looking for Naruto,' thought Yasuko.

"**That guy, Orochimaru, is really dangerous. You better hope you don't meet him again," said Nibi.**

'What's with him?' asked Yasuko.

"**He's an ex-Leaf ninja. He is also one of the three Sanin," said Nibi.**

'He's a Sanin?! Wait…that means Naruto is in trouble!' exclaimed Yasuko.

She ran off toward the camp area she set up. When she saw Naruto, she was relieved.

"Yasuko, what's wrong?" asked Naruto.

Yasuko answered, "The guy, the Sanin, did you see him?"

"What Sanin?" asked Naruto.

"Orochimaru," said Yasuko, "was in the forest."

"**Orochimaru, huh," said Kyuubi.**

'Who's Orochimaru?' asked Naruto.

"**Orochimaru is an ex-Leaf ninja and one of the Sanin. He is a very crooked man. When he was in Konoha, he would use many forbidden jutsu, even ones that involved human sacrifices. He was chased out of the village by the Third Hokage," explained Kyuubi.**

"You saw him here on the island?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, and he's looking for you," said Yasuko.

Naruto went cold. His face was expressionless. His skin had turned so white that he was almost transparent. His blue eyes started to widen. His lips were trembling. The thought of a Sanin looking for him was extremely terrifying. His breathing became harder until he couldn't breathe at all.

"Naruto, calm down!" yelled Yasuko. She patted him on the back to relieve him of his stress.

"A Sanin is looking for me! How am I supposed to stay calm?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"All we need to do is get some supplies and leave," said Yasuko.

She poured some water into the remaining stew. The stew started to heat up. The aroma of the disgusting stew filled the air around the camp.

"Yuck! That stuff smells worse than it tastes!" said Naruto.

"We need it. You never know when we're going to need it," said Yasuko.

She poured the stew in a bowl and covered it with a top. She then put it in her bag. She gathered all their belongings and disposed of all the remains of their camp.

Naruto took out his map and said, "The village on this island is close to here. We'll be able to reach it in a few hours."

They started walking along the shoreline around the island. The mild weather was pleasant and refreshing against their skin. The island was peaceful with not a sound to be heard except for the crashing of the waves on the beach. The soft sand sank in with every step that they took. Many birds could be seen flying overhead.

"This island is really peaceful," said Naruto.

"**Do we really have to stay with this kid?" asked Nibi.**

'Don't start, Nibi,' said Yasuko.

"**Naruto, I want to ask you something," said Kyuubi.**

'What?' asked Naruto.

"**How many girls do you know that have the strength and tactical techniques that Yasuko has?" asked Kyuubi.**

'I don't know,' said Naruto.

"**I think that she's hiding something from us," said Kyuubi.**

'Like what?' asked Naruto.

"**Maybe a bloodline limit or something like that," said Kyuubi.**

'Like the Uchiha's?' asked Naruto.

"**Possibly stronger than the Uchiha clan," said Kyuubi.**

'Maybe she has a Tailed Beast,' said Naruto.

"**Hahaha, that's funny. She fought with Sanbi, too, you know. Don't you think she would've used the Tailed Beast's power by now?" said Kyuubi.**

'True, but how do we know if she has used it already?' asked Naruto.

"**Let's talk about this later," said Kyuubi, ending their conversation.**

"Naruto, how far are we? We've been traveling for hours," complained Yasuko.

Naruto took out his map and said, "We are about an hour away."

"You're kidding…" groaned Yasuko.

They continued walking and Naruto asked, "Hey Yasuko, I've been wondering…is there something you've been hiding from me?"

"W-What are you talking about? I-I haven't been hiding anything from you," stuttered Yasuko.

"Then why are you stuttering?" asked Naruto.

"Because, there is something I need to tell you. I am the holder of the--" said Yasuko before being cut off.

"Hello again. I thought you said you didn't know the whereabouts of the Nine-Tailed Fox," said Orochimaru.

"What do you want with me?!" asked Naruto in a serious tone.

"I need a strong person to perform experiments on. I thought that the Nine-Tailed Fox would be a good guinea pig to test my curse mark experiment on." said Orochimaru.

"Curse mark experiment?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, it is a special mark I give to those whom I deem worthy. The mark appears somewhere on the target's body, and they subsequently lose consciousness. Sometime later, if their bodies can handle the power, they will awaken with the first level of the mark active and be enraged due to the mark's influence. The marks work by forcibly drawing chakra from the user's body, giving the user a chakra capacity beyond what they would normally be capable of, as well as increased physical performance as a result of the increased chakra capacity," explained Orochimaru.

"What happens to the people who can't handle the mark's power?" asked Yasuko.

"The people die," said Orochimaru flatly.

"You're horrible!" exclaimed Yasuko.

"Quiet child!" snapped Orochimaru.

"His experiments are quite extraordinary," said a person that appeared out of nowhere.

The person was young and had white hair. He had round glasses and a sharp scalpel in his hand.

"Ah, Kabuto, good of you to come," said Orochimaru.

"Has the curse mark been placed?" asked Kabuto.

"Not yet. If you put your Genjutsu on them the job will be completed faster," said Orochimaru.

"Understood," replied Kabuto.

After performing a couple of hand signs Kabuto exclaimed, "Feather Illusion Jutsu!"

"Ugh, why am I getting so sleepy…?" said Yasuko before she passed out.

Naruto, too, passed out.

"Now's my chance," said Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stretched out his neck as if he were a snake. When his teeth were inches away from Naruto's neck, Naruto's red chakra forced Orochimaru away.

"What's this?!" exclaimed Orochimaru.

Yasuko's metallic-blue chakra appeared, as well.

"**Release!" exclaimed Nibi and Kyuubi.**

Naruto and Yasuko were encased in the Tailed Beasts' chakra when they awoke.

"Arrrgh, Orochimaru!!!" exclaimed Naruto with an empowered voice.

"Your time of death draws near," said Yasuko in a clear, unshaken voice.

Both released an explosion of chakra on Orochimaru. Orochimaru almost evaded the attack until Yasuko released ten arms made of metallic-blue chakra to hold him in his place. Naruto sent twelve consecutive attacks on Kabuto. Kabuto was blown into the sky by the incredible power. Naruto and Yasuko stood back to back.

They both let out bursts of chakra around the beach area. Sand erupted out of the ground. Naruto punched Orochimaru into the water, sending waves crashing hard onto the beach. When Orochimaru got up, Naruto's extraordinary speed bested him in the final blow.

"K-Kabuto, let's get out of here!" yelled Orochimaru.

"You won't be so lucky next time!" exclaimed Kabuto.

Both preformed various hand signs and disappeared into thin air.

Naruto's and Yasuko's chakra faded into nothingness.

"Hey Yasuko, what were you going to tell me before?" asked Naruto.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! This is my 8****th**** chapter. Hope you like it! LEAVE REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"**Tailed Beast"**

_Dreaming_

Chapter 8

Secrets Revealed

"No wonder you were so calm when I told you that I held the Nine-Tailed Fox. You hold the Two-Tailed Cat! This is amazing!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Sorry I didn't tell you before. I was really nervous, plus Nibi keeps saying that you're holding me back." Yasuko rubbed her neck awkwardly. Her attitude was more pleasant now that her secret was out. Naruto could see it in her amber-colored eyes.

"**Well, well. She did have a Tailed Beast just like you said," said Kyuubi.**

'Honestly, I thought she was part of a noble clan, like the clan of the First Hokage, because she can handle many different earth-style techniques,' replied Naruto. He didn't linger on the thought of Yasuko's secret for very long because they had other matters to settle. Finally Naruto said, "That fight with Orochimaru slowed us down and I'm pretty worn out from the battle. Maybe we should rest here for the night."

Yasuko nodded then spoke to Nibi for a little bit.

"**Maybe sticking with the kid might not be such a bad idea," said Nibi.**

'Why all of a sudden the change of heart?' asked Yasuko inquisitively.

"**I saw the way the kid fought the Sanin and he's pretty good," replied Nibi.**

Their conversation continued until Naruto started a fire. He set up a stand and hung a pot from it. He took out a prepared pack of ramen out of his backpack. He poured the broth and noodles into the pot to let it cook until it was ready.

"Is there anything that you eat that isn't ramen?" sarcastically questioned Yasuko.

"Not really," replied Naruto, oblivious to the sarcasm implied.

Yasuko took out some dumplings and some soup out of her pack. She ate quickly and silently. She enjoyed the cool sea spray as it hit her face. The water was refreshing against her travel-stained skin. She enjoyed the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. Yasuko also enjoyed the smell of salt in the air. The ocean was one of the only places she could find solace. She spoke into the air with a crystalline voice saying, "This island is really peaceful. This is one of the only places that I feel content in staying."

Naruto understood what she meant, but he didn't understand what she felt. He took some time to absorb his surroundings. At once, everything became crystal clear to him. His body and soul where interlaced with the rhythm of the ocean's current. Everything was at peace. After an hour of peace they both pulled out their sleeping bags and quickly drifted off to sleep.

_The Nine-Tailed Fox was near the gates of the village. There was a blond-haired man standing on a giant toad performing many hand signs while other ninjas from Konoha._

"_Kushina, hold on," said the blond-haired man._

_In a hospital, Kushina's cries from birth pains could be heard in all the floors._

"_Minato, where are you!" cried Kushina._

_Minato was still performing hand signs when he saw Fugaku Uchiha run up to the monster._

'_Good,' thought Minato, 'his family's Sharingan has been able to control the Fox before.'_

_When he completed his hand signs, a bright flash extended from him to the Fox._

"_I am sorry, my son. Naruto, I hope you can manage without me." A single tear slid off Minato's face._

_In the hospital room, Kushina had died giving birth. On her baby's stomach was a seal. One of the doctors said, "She will be remembered always. As for the child," hesitated the doctor, "sadly, he will be resented for the rest of his life here in the village. As for myself, I hope the Fourth Hokage's legacy will live on in him."_

Naruto woke up suddenly. The sun was already in the sky. Yasuko was nearby, cooking in the fire. Whatever she was cooking smelled delicious.

"Finally you're awake. You've been whimpering in your sleep for a while," said Yasuko.

"What are you cooking?" asked Naruto.

"I caught some birds not too far away from here. I've skinned them, and now I'm cooking them," replied Yasuko.

While they were eating, Naruto retold his dream to Yasuko, explaining everything in detail.

"Wow, that was some dream," commented Yasuko.

"I felt as if it were real," added Naruto.

"Well, one thing's for sure. You are the son of Kushina," said Yasuko.

"What?! How do you know that?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Her full name is Kushina Uzumaki," said Yasuko. She paused and then started saying, "In the Whirlpool Country, where I'm from, people talked about Kushina all the time. The guys say that she was the most beautiful woman ever to be born. Women were jealous of her beauty. Many ninja spoke about her unique ninjutsu style. There were rumors that said that she was engaged to a person named Minato Namikaze, also known as the Fourth Hokage. There is a possibility that you're related to the Fourth Hokage," said Yasuko.

"Wow…those two are my parents. I…I," stumbled Naruto.

"It's overwhelming isn't it?" said Yasuko responding to Naruto's surprise.

"Yeah, it is. Who were your parents?" asked Naruto suddenly.

"I never met my parents," responded Yasuko.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," responded Naruto in a tone of pity.

"No, no, it's fine. I have been able to live on my own, so would never need them anyway," solemnly said Yasuko.

"Who took care of you when you were left alone?" asked Naruto.

"I lived in an orphanage," replied Yasuko.

"Why did you leave?" asked Naruto.

Yasuko gave a small smile. "I didn't leave, I was kicked out. This guy who worked at the orphanage was playing sports with all the boys. I asked if I could play and he said that girls were too weak. Then, I made a bet with him. I bet that if I won a fighting challenge, I could play with them. So, then all the boys wanted to make it a contest so that everyone could participate. After many fights, the guy and I were in the final match. We fought using many different ninjutsu techniques, but in the end, I won. The guy was so mangled and distraught after the battle that he needed to go to a mental institution. After that, they kicked me out and I've been living alone ever since."

"What was the guy's name?" asked Naruto.

"Zabuza Momochi," replied Yasuko. She continued saying, "He was the person who taught me how to use water-style techniques."

"You can use earth and water-style techniques?" asked Naruto surprised.

"Yeah, why?" asked Yasuko.

"You've never used them," replied Naruto.

"I try not to use them too much. He taught me how to use the Silent Killing technique which involves various water techniques," said Yasuko.

"I've heard of that technique. It's used by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist," said Naruto.

"That's right. I heard that Zabuza left with a new apprentice. Another Swordsman named Kisame Hoshigaki joined the Akatsuki. I don't know what happened to the rest of the Swordsmen," said Yasuko.

"We should get going," said Naruto.

"Yeah, we should," said Yasuko.

As they packed to leave, Yasuko paused to look at the rising sun. The sea mist exploded into sky, creating many star-like crystals reflecting off the white rays of the sun. They looked like little stars against a light-blue sky. The spray had fallen on her black hair giving the appearance of many stars in the night sky. This scene was disrupted by an unfamiliar sound.

The sound was like the sound of several trees falling, and that was exactly what it was. Several palm trees from the small jungle area in the middle of the island had collapsed. Naruto and Yasuko went to see what the matter was. When they arrived at the area of the numerous collapses they saw to figures wearing cloaks with red clouds on them. One of the figures had black hair and eyes as red as blood. The other had pale blue skin and many shark-like characteristics.

"Kisame Hoshigaki, long time no see," said Yasuko with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Yasuko Matarisho, I haven't seen you since you were being trained by Zabuza," said Kisame. He smiled, showing all of his pointed teeth in jagged rows.

"You know her?" asked the other figure.

"Yes. She was the most powerful apprentice Zabuza ever had. Itachi, can we kill her? I need to get some practice before going after Six-Tailed Beast," said Kisame with an inhumane voice.

"Just make sure they don't make it to the village nearby. We wouldn't want them blabbing about our presence, and try not to overdo it. Your style of fighting is highly distinguishable, so keep your power low," said Itachi. He switched his look from Kisame to Naruto. "You, you were the one who nearly killed Deidara."

"And you were the guy who took him away from us before we could finish him off," said Naruto.

"Tsukuyomi!" exclaimed Itachi.

Suddenly, Itachi's eyes turned into a pinwheel-like circle. Blood ran down like tears from his eyes.

The world went black. All of Naruto's vision was blocked by an eternal darkness. A small glimpse of twilight broke the darkness. Then, Itachi stood where there was light. Houses slowly started to appear. People were lying on the floor, dead. Many were struggling to hold on to their lives until Itachi walked up to them and finished them off with his katana. Each person screamed as death slowly crept up to them until they were finally cut off from the world, left in nothingness. Naruto's stream of thoughts had stopped as the gory scenes of bloodshed passed through his eyes. The crimson liquid was splattered everywhere on the ground.

"Do you know where we are?" asked Itachi in a solemn tone.

"The Uchiha Estate," replied Naruto, still shocked from what he had just seen.

"Correct," said Itachi, "but, do you know what is occurring?"

"No," said Naruto, trying to keep his cries of fear from coming out.

"What is taking place is the Uchiha Massacre," said Itachi.

"Why did you do this?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"To test the limits of my power," replied Itachi.

Suddenly, Naruto was tied up against a wall with chains. Itachi slowly walked toward Naruto, katana in hand. He lifted his arm and stabbed at Naruto. It hit Naruto in the heart, stopping the flow of blood within Naruto's body. The scene replayed again, and Naruto was unharmed. Two Itachi's stood in front of Naruto. They both plunged their swords into Naruto's heart. Each scene repeated itself with more Itachi clones popping up. Intense pain grew within Naruto's body with each stab he took.

"**That's enough! Release!" exclaimed Kyuubi.**

The Uchiha Estate slowly faded away into the darkness. All was lost until the real world came back. Hours had passed in the world created by the Tsukuyomi, but in the real world, not even half a second had passed. Naruto quickly fell onto the floor, gasping for air. Kisame gave a skeptical look at Itachi.

"Did you use the Tsukuyomi?" asked Kisame.

"Yes, and I am sorry for denying you a chance for practice, but we have to go," said Itachi, his voice trailing away with a gust of wind.

Itachi took a couple steps back and then disappeared into thin air. Kisame did the same. After their transportation, Itachi scanned his thoughts.

'So, Kyuubi was able to release Naruto from the Tsukuyomi,' thought Itachi.

"Itachi, are you ok?" asked Kisame.

"Yes, why?" asked Itachi.

"You know what happens after using the Mangekyou Sharingan," said Kisame.

Itachi's vision blurred. "Yes, I know."


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! This is my 9th chapter. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"**Tailed Beast"**

Chapter 9

Tsunade

"What happened?" inquired Naruto, waking up groggily.

"You passed out. That Itachi guy did something to you. One minute you were fine and the next you were on the floor screaming," answered Yasuko. She opened her pack and took out a bowl filled with soup. "I told you that we were going to need the soup."

"Yuck, not that stuff again!" protested Naruto.

"Too bad, you have to eat it," said Yasuko. She pulled a spoon out of her pack and plunged it into the silver liquid. "Here," she said forcing the bowl in Naruto's hands.

"Fine," said Naruto. He took the spoon and ate the soup. After he finished the soup he said, "That was disgusting."

"**We have to get going. We're running out of supplies," said Nibi.**

'You're right. I'm running out of weapons and Naruto is going to starve if we don't have any ramen," agreed Yasuko. "Naruto, we need to get to the village."

"Ok, let's get packed," replied Naruto.

As soon as they were finished packing, they set off toward the nearby village. Along the way, Yasuko told Naruto about the village they were entering. She said that the village was a tourist site because of the beautiful beaches that surround it. She also said that there were many casinos and bars in the village.

"Are there any restaurants? I'm hungry," said Naruto. Suddenly, his stomach growled.

"Haha, yes, there are restaurants," said Yasuko.

As they were walking along the coastline of the island, they reached the gates of the village. Two guards were in the front of the village, guarding the gates.

"State your business here," said the guard on the left.

"We're just here to buy some supplies," replied Naruto.

The guard contemplated on what Naruto said and then yelled, "Open the gates!"

The wooden gates slowly opened. The village was very festive and decorated with many golden streamers that leaped from one building to the next. The streets were lined with people of all ages. There were buildings with lights that stated the names of casinos, bars, restaurants, and hotels.

"Wow, this place is…um…colorful," said Yasuko.

"I don't care, I see a restaurant that serves ramen," said Naruto in an excited tone.

Yasuko groaned when Naruto dashed off toward the restaurant. She trudged toward the restaurant, taking in all the sites and colors she was seeing. Suddenly, a man appeared in front of Yasuko.

"You! You knocked me out in the woods the other day. Now it's payback time!" exclaimed the man.

"I remember you. You were the idiot that tried to steal my money," said Yasuko.

They guy swung at her. Yasuko ducked and stabbed his arm with a kunai.

"Ouch! You little brat! Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Missile!" raged the man. The man opened his mouth and a dragon made out of fire. The dragon quickly gained speed toward Yasuko.

"Genjutsu: Tree Bind Death!" exclaimed Yasuko. She disappeared in a gust of wind. Seconds after her disappearance a tree grew out of the ground and entrapped the man with several strong branches. Suddenly, Yasuko grew out of the tree and pressed a kunai against the man's neck. In a flash, she cut his neck, killing him. She then released her Genjutsu and the corpse sprawled onto the floor.

"That was impressive," said a woman coming out of a casino. She had blonde hair and a strange purple diamond mark on her forehead.

"Who are you?" asked Yasuko.

"My name is Tsunade," said the woman.

"T-Tsunade the Sanin?" said Yasuko.

"Yes. What is your name?" asked Tsunade.

"My name is Yasuko Matarisho," she said.

"**We should get Naruto. You don't know what she's capable of," said Nibi.**

Suddenly, Naruto walked up to Yasuko and said, "Hey, I finished eating. I got you some dumplings…Is that guy on the floor ok?"

"He's dead," said Tsunade.

"How did he die?" questioned Naruto.

"Yasuko used Genjutsu to bind the man so she could come up behind him and slice his neck," she replied.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto.

"My name is Tsunade. What is yours?" said Tsunade.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he replied.

"Uzumaki…" said Tsunade. 'He looks so much like his father.' she thought. "You're the vessel for the Nine-Tailed Fox, right?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"**This is the First Hokage's granddaughter. Be careful, she could wipe you out in less than a second," said Kyuubi.**

"Are you ok? Your skin is extremely pale," said Tsunade.

"A guy named Itachi used a weird Genjutsu and then Naruto had a nervous breakdown," said Yasuko.

"Itachi? You two fought Itachi Uchiha and lived?!" asked Tsunade.

"We didn't actually fight. After Itachi used that strange Genjutsu, he left and I had to take care of Naruto," said Yasuko.

"Did you use any type of medical jutsu?" asked Tsunade.

"No, I haven't learned how to perform medical jutsu," replied Yasuko.

"Alright, follow me," commanded Tsunade.

The group traversed the village until they reached a small cottage on the outskirts of the village. Tsunade entered the cottage first, followed by Yasuko and then Naruto.

The cottage was like an apartment, complete with a kitchen and a sitting room. There was a small hallway that led to a bedroom.

In the kitchen, Tsunade prepared three cups of tea, two of which she gave to Naruto and Yasuko.

"You two might be seeing a lot of Itachi Uchiha. He is part of the Akatsuki, which you already know is an evil organization bent on the world's destruction by the use of the Tailed Beasts. The Akatsuki members will try to hunt you two down because you two contain Tailed Beasts," informed Tsunade.

"Hold on! How did you know I had a Tailed Beast?! I never told you!" inquired Yasuko. Her expression grew wilder by the second.

"Yasuko Matarisho, do you have any siblings?" asked Tsunade randomly.

"Yeah, we were separated when I was kicked out of the orphanage we were in. Now answer my question!" demanded Yasuko.

"Your sister, is her name Konan Matarisho by any chance?" asked Tsunade.

"Yeah…how do you know all this?" asked Yasuko. Her voice was no more than a whisper.

"Konan has joined the Akatsuki. I fought her once and she told me her sister carried the Two-Tailed Beast," said Tsunade in a grave tone.

"…What? You have to be lying…My sister wouldn't want to kill me," said Yasuko in disbelief. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I am sorry, but you wanted to know why and there it is," said Tsunade. She placed her cup of tea down on the table in front of her.

"Can I ask you a question? Why did you bring us here?" asked Naruto.

"To make a proposition," responded Tsunade. "I have been trying to get off this island for two months. Every ship that would come to this island has mysteriously disappeared. I guess that the Three-Tailed Beast destroyed them all. There is a ship at the pier that is ready for leaving, but the crew is too scared of disappearing to leave. I want you two to help me hijack the ship."

"What?! Are you crazy?" exclaimed Yasuko.

"No, I know you will help me," said Tsunade plainly.

"We aren't helping you!" yelled Naruto.

"Yes you are. That man Yasuko killed was a village guard. The other guards are probably looking for Yasuko right now. If you refuse to help me, I will give you up to the guards," said Tsunade. She crossed her arms and stared at the two.

"Fine, we'll help you," said Naruto, "but what do we get out of this?"

"Well, you get to stay out of jail," said Tsunade. The muscles on her face tightened a little bit. "And I'll teach you some medical jutsu once we're done with the ship." When she finished the statement, her face looked mangled. She was angry that she was about to give some of her best medical secrets away.

"I'm up for that. When do we go?" said Yasuko, wiping the rest of the tears off her face.

"We leave in two days," said Tsunade. She stood up and went into her room. She came back carrying a large scroll.

"What's that?" asked Yasuko.

"This scroll contains all the shipping records for this year. The ship we will be boarding is called the _Sapphire Heart._ This ship mostly imports weapons from Takumi. Naruto and I will gather supplies tomorrow. Yasuko, you stay here. We can't risk you getting caught by the guards. Let me get a map to show you where Takumi is." Tsunade walked to a nearby shelf and took a smaller scroll off the shelf. She unrolled it. It was a more recent map than Naruto's map. She pointed toward the Land Of The Waterfall. "I need to get to Takigakure to collect a certain rare medicinal herb that could cure almost any disease known to mankind. I'm going to make an elixir that will help my friend, Shizune, recover from a terminal disease. We will have to cross where the Whirlpool Country was."

"What do you mean 'was'?" asked Yasuko.

"The country doesn't appear as an independent entity. It has been broken up by war that was stirred up by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Four of the swordsman, two of which were Kisame Hoshigaki, Raiga Kurosuki, and Zabuza Momochi, led an attack on several small villages, which started a war between Kirigakure and the Whirlpool Country. The war ruined the country so badly, that the country gave up certain pieces of land to Kirigakure. Then they gave up more land to create peace with other villages. Before they knew it, they gave up all their land," explained Tsunade.

"I never knew so much has happened since I was gone. Why did Zabuza attack the Whirlpool Country? He was really nice when he worked at the orphanage," said Yasuko.

"He was from the Whirlpool Country. He was sent to a mental institution in Kirigakure because a crazy girl almost killed him. That's how he made it to Kirigakure," explained Tsunade.

A small smile appeared on Yasuko's face.

"You didn't! You were the…" started Tsunade.

"Let's not talk about that now. How are we going to hijack the ship?" asked Yasuko.

Tsunade then explained all the entrances and exits of the ship. She showed them where the rudder to change the course of direction on the ship was. She explained every aspect of the plan into great detail.

"Tomorrow we gather the supplies and when night comes…," started Tsunade, "we hijack the ship." 


	10. Chapter 10

Hi guys. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's read my previous chapters. Thank you very much! And now for my 10th chapter. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS!!!

"Talking"

'Thinking or talking to Tailed Beast'

"**Tailed Beast"**

Chapter 10

The Sapphire Heart

"Naruto, wake up," said Tsunade.

Naruto woke up groggily from the cot Tsunade had set up for him. Yasuko was sleeping on the couch where they had talked about their plans to hijack the _Sapphire Heart._

"What? It's still dark outside," said Naruto, waking up from his morning daze.

"We need to get the supplies while there are less people on the streets. Now, get up!" responded Tsunade.

Naruto got out of the cot and went to the small counter and took the loaf of bread off the table. He tore a piece of the end and stuffed it in his mouth. He stored the rest of the loaf in his pack. He waited at the front door while Tsunade grabbed a few weapons from a box she kept in a nearby closet.

"We were spotted with Yasuko when she killed the guard, so I guess they'll be after us, too," said Tsunade. Wrinkles appeared in her forehead, surrounding the purple diamond engraved in the middle, when she looked at the kitchen counter. "Where's the loaf of bread?"

Naruto smiled. "It's in my pack. I thought we would get hungry on the way back here."

"Whatever. Let's go," said Tsunade.

They left the small cottage and started toward the inner-village. Naruto told Tsunade about the many adventures he had when he left Konoha. He told her about the giant snake and how he broke out of jail with Yasuko. He ranted and raved about the complexity of their different plans to kill Deidara in Iwagakure. He then told her about their fight with Sanbi and how they nearly killed Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru? Haha, that moron actually thought he could beat two Tailed Beasts? Even if he is a Sanin, he can't take you and Yasuko on without a lot of help," mocked Tsunade.

Naruto continued by saying how they met Itachi a second time and how they made it to the village.

By the time they got to the village, the sun had already begun to rise. Very few people were out on the streets at that time. The people who were awake minded their own business. This wasn't the lively village that Naruto remembered seeing the day before. The village was quiet and grave.

"**I can't believe you're hijacking a ship. Don't you think we have enough problems?!" nagged Kyuubi. **The fox stirred in the small chamber in Naruto's subconscious. He repeatedly nagged Naruto for an hour.

After Naruto and Tsunade bought the supplies, they headed back to the cottage, where they found Yasuko making food.

"I made some dumplings. And for Naruto, ramen." said Yasuko. 'I'll be surprised if he ever eats anything else…'

They silently ate their lunch. Throughout most of the afternoon, they discussed their plan to steal the _Sapphire Heart. _Tsunade told them about her childhood, being taught by the Third Hokage, and the tragedies that have befallen in her life. She told them how her brother, Nawaki, was killed the day after his birthday. She also told them how her fiancé, Dan, died right in front of her while she tried to save him.

"I'm so sorry…" said Yasuko. There was a hint of sympathy in her voice.

"It's ok. I have absolutely no ties with Konoha except Shizune. She is Dan's niece, which is why I'm trying really hard to get that rare medicinal herb," said Tsunade.

Later, around midnight, the group began to leave the cottage.

"Here, put on these cloaks," said Tsunade holding two black cloaks in her hands. They both took the cloaks and wrapped themselves in them. Tsunade had a similar cloak and covered herself, as well. All three pulled hoods over their heads and hurried toward the pier.

On their way, they encountered two guards, blocking their entrance into the pier.

"State your business here!" shouted one of the guards. When Tsunade was about to answer him, he said, "Take those hoods off! We have a criminal on the loose that killed a guard. We need to check everyone that enters and exits the village."

When Yasuko was about to take her hood off, Naruto took out his golden katana and stabbed the guard in the chest. When the other guard was about to call out for help, Naruto quickly decapitated him.

"Naruto! Now were in huge trouble you knucklehead!" yelled Yasuko. She quickly hid the corpses in a hollowed out log.

"Naruto, more guards are coming!" yelled Tsunade.

More of the guards came, running as fast as cheetahs. They all had their swords help high. Their boots stomping the ground sounded like thunder. Their enhanced voices sound like roars from a group of lions.

"Leave these guys to me!" yelled Tsunade. "Legendary Heel Drop: Heaven Kick of Pain!" yelled Tsunade. Her heel crashed into the ground and made an explosion of sand and earth. The fissure startled the guards and forced them to stop rushing towards the Sanin. The force of the kick went on to shake the ground that Naruto and Yasuko were standing on.

"Whoa! That was some kick!" yelled Yasuko.

"Let's go!" yelled Tsunade. She ran toward the gate that separated the pier from the city. Tsunade raised an arm and launched it toward the gate. The gate crumbled away until in turned into powder.

'Wow…I'm scared of her,' thought Naruto.

"**Is she scarier than Yasuko?" asked Kyuubi.**

'No, but Tsunade's still pretty scary,' replied Naruto.

The three climbed the pile that was once a stone gate. They ran down the docks until they found the weapon carrier ship by the name of the _Sapphire Heart._

"Naruto, Yasuko, you two know what to do!" shouted Tsunade.

Naruto and Yasuko ran to the end of the dock and jumped into the icy waters. They swam to all the parts of the ship until they found the anchor. Once there, Yasuko swam all the way to the bottom of the ocean floor and took the fluke out of the sand. From there, Yasuko raised the anchor a little and Naruto pulled on the rope to help. Once the anchor was above water, Tsunade, having already knocked out the guards on the ship, pulled the anchor in with one arm and helped Naruto and Yasuko onto the ship.

"Thanks. We would've drowned holding up that anchor," said Naruto.

"Hey, look! A bow! There's also a quiver full of arrows here, too!" said Yasuko. The look on her face was one that could frighten the bravest and the most emotionless ninja.

"You know how to use those?" asked Tsunade.

"Yeah, watch!" said Yasuko. She took an arrow out of the quiver, strung her bow, and finally, let go of the arrow. The arrow struck an armored guard in between the eyes.

"Nice shot! Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" complimented Tsunade.

"I'll tell you later. Let's go already!" replied Yasuko.

Once Tsunade threw the unconscious guards overboard, they sailed further and further away from the Crescent Moon Island.


	11. Chapter 11

Hi! Thank you for reading this chapter. I worked really hard on it so I hope you like it! This is my 11th chapter. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS!

_Narrating_

"Talking"  
'Thinking'

"**Tailed Beast"**

Chapter 11

The Bloodline Limit

_It's not very often when you set off for something really important. My life has been nothing but sorrow and pain. Everything in life has a meaning. As for me, I am a shield for all humanity. I hold the Nine-Tailed Fox within my body. I am only nine years old and I have left my home to start a better life. On my way I met a girl. This girl was like no other. She was strong, smart, and caring, not like the rest of the girls in Konoha. Her name is Yasuko. After we both were put in prison, we both developed a friendship that would last for a lifetime. We endured many challenges together, and over time, we became best friends. We both always protected each other, even if it meant throwing our lives away in the process. There was one time that this guy named Deidara tried to blow up the village Iwagakure. Yasuko went to go collect the bombs because I had been hurt at the moment. She was almost blown up when she came back to tell me the good news. She survived the explosion by using a Substitution Jutsu. We ended up nearly killing Deidara that day. Then, we found out about an evil organization called the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki was an organization that captured the Tailed Beasts for world domination. After we got out of the village, we were in the northern part of the Land of Earth looking for a boat to sail them to the luxurious Crescent Moon Island. We had to make a canoe and paddle ourselves all the way to the island by ourselves. We had an encounter with the Three-Tailed Beast, Sanbi. We fought for hours until night, and, because of Yasuko's cleverness, we were able to get away. Once on the island, I became very sick. Yasuko made a remedy for my sickness. She searched the island for the herbs just for me. She was a true companion, especially after I found out something that we had in common. She was the vessel of a Tailed Beast, the Two-Tailed Cat to be exact. I found out she was a Tailed Beast vessel when we were in a fight with the Sanin, Orochimaru. He tried place a curse mark on me, but when Yasuko and I used the Tailed Beasts' chakra, we were able to defeat Orochimaru easily. Then, once we made it to a village on the island, Yasuko killed a guard. From then on, Yasuko was being hunted down. We met the Sanin named Tsunade on the island. She made a deal with us that if we helped her retrieve a rare herb in Takigakure, she would teach us Medical Jutsu. The next day, Tsunade and I got supplies and at midnight, we went to the pier to hijack a ship called the Sapphire Heart. I killed two guards because they recognized Yasuko as she was taking her hood off of her head. Then, more guards came and Tsunade scared them by performing a heel drop on the ground, crushing the ground between her feet. The kick created a crater that was able to stop the guards. Tsunade then destroyed the gate that separated the village from the pier. At once, we did everything possible to acquire the ship. Once we did, Yasuko demonstrated her amazing archery skills before we sailed away into the blue nothingness. Now, it has been eight days since we said away from the Crescent Moon Island and something is wrong with me. It's like a power is growing in me, trying to release itself. A secret of my family's past is about to reveal itself and it will change my life forever._

"Yasuko, where did you learn to shoot like that?" asked Tsunade.

"My uncle, Kidomaru, took care of me and Konan after my parents died in the fire in my house. He taught me how to use a bow. Konan never liked using weapons. She preferred making origami instead. I was sent to an orphanage with Konan after a couple of guys came and kidnapped my uncle," said Yasuko.

"Really? I'm so sorry about that," said Tsunade, turning the wheel of the ship toward the direction of their destination.

Naruto was looking out into the never ending blue waters. His eyes have been bothering him since the day they hijacked the _Sapphire Heart._ His blue eyes were turning paler and paler each minute.

"Naruto, are you ok?" asked Yasuko.

"It's nothing. My eyes are bothering me, but it's probably just because of the salt water," replied Naruto.

"You should have me look at that," said Tsunade. She waved at Yasuko to take the wheel. When Yasuko came up Tsunade walked over to where Naruto was. She lifted his head to look at his eyes. "Hm? What's this?"

"What's what?" asked Naruto.

"Your eyes, their white," said Tsunade.

"Is it good or bad?" asked Naruto.

"I can't tell yet…We'll see when we're in Takigakure," responded Tsunade.

The rest of the morning, Naruto stared into the ocean, thinking about the hijacking attempt.

"**What's wrong kid?" asked Kyuubi.**

'I can't help but thinking that something is about to happen…I can't tell whether it will be good or bad,' said Naruto.

"**Is it something that has to do with you? I've noticed that your eyes have been bothering you. If you want, I could search your brain for an answer to all of this," said Kyuubi.**

'If you want to…' said Naruto.

Kyuubi walked all the way to the back of his cage in Naruto's subconscious. He then released enormous amounts of chakra that took the form of miniature foxes that ran out of the cage. The foxes probed Naruto's mind for an hour, not able to find anything that might have led to the discoloration in Naruto's eyes. Then, Kyuubi realized something.

'**I haven't checked the part of his brain that carried memories of his family,' thought Kyuubi.**

Kyuubi sent all of the miniature foxes toward the area of Naruto's memories. Once there, the foxes saw an unbelievable sight. They saw Kushina Uzumaki giving birth. During the birth, something was wrong with Kushina's eyes.

"**Got it," said Kyuubi.**

'What's wrong with my eyes?' asked Naruto.

"**It's a surprise," said Kyuubi.**

'Whatever.' Naruto didn't care that Kyuubi was keeping a secret from him. Just as long as it wasn't anything bad, he didn't care. "Aaah, my eyes are burning!"

"Naruto!" exclaimed Yasuko. She let Tsunade take the wheel and rushed towards him.

Naruto was writhing in pain on the floor, covering his eyes. 'Kyuubi, I thought you told me it was something good!'

"**Wait, you'll be alright," said Kyuubi.**

Naruto was clutching the area around his eyes. "It burns!" Then, the pain stopped. It felt like there was nothing wrong with him in the first place. "It doesn't hurt anymore." Naruto lifted himself off the floor.

"Naruto, your eyes!" exclaimed Yasuko.

"What? Are they still white?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, and they have rings around it!" replied Yasuko.

"**Surprise!" said Kyuubi.**

'Kyuubi, what did you do?!' asked Naruto angrily.

"**Ask Tsunade," said Kyuubi.**

"Tsunade, what's wrong with my eyes?" asked Naruto.

"What the-?!" exclaimed Tsunade.

"What's wrong with them?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"T-The Rinnegan!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he replied.

"The Rinnegan is the most powerful, revered and supreme of all the three main eye techniques. The Rinnegan is characterized by a number of concentric circles around the pupil of the user. In addition to allowing an individual to quickly master various jutsu, the user may also use all six forms of nature manipulation, which means you can use any elemental jutsu. Like the Sharingan and Byakugan do, the Rinnegan also allows the user to sense chakra, including an otherwise hidden barrier," explained Tsunade.

"My family has this Kekkei Genkai?" asked Naruto.

"I guess…" said Tsunade.

"Land!" shouted Yasuko.

Tsunade looked out towards the sea and saw a small strip of land. As they approached, the area got bigger and bigger until they could see it fully.

"We're here! This is where Takigakure is!" shouted Tsunade. 


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been writing for this story in a while. I guess I'll have to make up for lost time. If you remember, Yasuko and Naruto are both 9 years old and this chapter takes place 5 years later (hence the title). I hope you like this chapter! Please leave a review to give any suggestions on my writing style or if you have something nice to say.

"Talking"  
_Thinking_**  
"Tailed Beast"**

**Chapter 12**

**5 Years Later**

It has been five years since Naruto has run away from Konoha, knowing what he was leaving behind. Since then, he made some true friends: Yasuko, the Two-Tailed Cat vessel, and Tsunade, one of the three Sanin. They have been through much together, like the time when they hijacked a boat, or when Yasuko and Naruto broke out of jail. What has prevailed through everything they have been through is their friendship which they believe will never end, and hopefully never will…

"Naruto, I understand that you hate the place but you're gonna have to go back at some point," Yasuko tried to reason. She gave the blond-haired boy a disappointed expression.

"No! I'm not going back to Konoha and you can't make me!" Naruto yelled angrily, flailing his fists in the air.

"You're so stubborn. You've got to stop acting like a child and more like a fourteen-year-old."

"You're acting just like Tsunade…"

"Good. She was probably the only one that could get some sense into you."

"Yeah, well we don't know where she went so there's no way _you_ can convince me otherwise!"

Yasuko glared at him, her amber eyes widening just enough to scare Naruto into keeping quiet. "Naruto, if we don't go to Konoha, we'll probably never be able to find Tsunade. The elders must know where she is," Yasuko tried to reason once more.

Naruto thought for a moment before asking, "We're only gonna be there to talk to the elders, right?"

"Of course," said Yasuko.

"Fine…"

Yasuko grinned. "Thank you for cooperating." Yasuko took her bag and stood. "Alright, Konoha should be about a couple of miles away from here, so we should reach it before the sun comes up," she said while looking outside the window. It was still dark outside, but it was close to morning; this was the time Tsunade usually woke them up to train them in medical jutsu.

Naruto grabbed his bag and his katana and stood. "If anyone from that village tries to mess with us," he unsheathed his katana, "I'm gonna show them the same mercy they showed me."

Yasuko giggled. "You don't have the heart to kill someone and you know it." She opened the door of the abandoned cottage that they were staying at for the night. Naruto quickly followed.

"They aren't people, they're monsters," Naruto said darkly.

"You really hate these people, don't you?" Yasuko asked in a declining tone.

"…Yes," Naruto replied in a heartrending tone.

They walked outside of the cottage and continued down a trail that led to the village. Naruto ranted and raved on how much the people would try to hurt him each day and on how he was never given any sympathy from anyone except for one person.

"Who?" asked Yasuko.

"Izanagi…" Naruto said in a whisper.

"Who's that?"

"The craftsman that gave me this." Naruto unsheathed his katana. The blade gleamed silvery and gold. It was adorned with many intricate patterns. In the middle, there was a golden insignia shaped like a fox.

"I haven't seen the katana taken out since we hijacked the Sapphire Heart."

"He gave me this on my birthday. This was my first birthday present."

"Hey look, the sun's coming up." Yasuko pointed to the east, where a golden outline shot out bright rays of light. "I love watching sunrises."

They continued down the road for about 20 minutes before reaching the gates of Konoha. "I'm having second thoughts," Naruto said.

"Oh, shut up," Yasuko replied playfully. She grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him towards the wall next to the huge doors.

"What are we doing?"

"Climbing." Yasuko put one foot on the wall and then the other and just started walking up.

"Hey, wait for me!" Naruto did the same and followed his companion up the wall.

"Shush! No one's awake and if they found out that we scaled the wall, they'll kick us out," Yasuko whispered.

"Good," Naruto muttered. Once they were on top of the wall, they jumped onto the nearest building and kept going until they reach the ground in front of the Hokage Mansion. "Hey, let's go in here. I wanna say hi to the old man."

"I thought only Izanagi was nice to you."

"Out of the villagers," he replied simply.

Naruto and Yasuko went up to the door and picked the lock. Once they were in, they quietly walked to the Hokage's office. Just when they were about to open the door, a young, black-haired woman wearing a purple kimono gripped both of their arms. "What do you two think you're doing!?"

"It's ok, Shizune. You can let them in," said an all-too-familiar voice.

Shizune let go of the two and opened the door for them. When Naruto and Yasuko were inside, they saw a blonde-haired woman staring straight at them. "Tsunade?" said Naruto.

"Hello again," she replied.

The two children walked up to her desk and sat in the two seats in front of it. "You're the Hokage?" asked Yasuko.

"Sadly, yes."

"What happened to the old man?" asked Naruto.

Tsunade lowered her gaze. "You remember Orochimaru, right?" Both children nodded. "He…he killed the Third. Well, actually, the Third gave his life to protect this village."

Naruto's face was expressionless. Tsunade would tell them that good ninjas could keep their emotions from getting the better of them, even when they are told the most devastating news. "So…Yasuko, would you like to tell her?"

Tsunade kept her eyes fixed on Naruto. "Tell me what?"

"The Akatsuki found us again. Their send people like Itachi, Hidan, Kisame, Kakuzu, and many others to capture us. We've even heard that Orochimaru might be teaming up with them again. If this keeps going, anywhere we go will be destroyed and any village we enter will have to wage war against them. We need help," explained Yasuko.

Tsunade intertwined her fingers together. "I see…" Tsunade turned her gaze from the children in front of her to the papers on her desk. One of them said:

NINJA ACADEMY EXAMS NEXT WEEK

_Ninja Academy exams?_ thought Tsunade. "Hm…I have an idea, but you're not going to like it."

"What? What's the idea?" asked Yasuko.

"The Ninja Academy exams are next week. I could recreate your identities within this village and you could take the exams, join the teams, and act like nothing ever happened."

"I'm not going back to that academy," said Naruto.

"If you don't want to die, you will."

Naruto glared at the new Hokage. "Fine…"

Tsunade smiled. "Ok, I guess I'll have to send a few forms to the academy to get you two in. Until then, you two just walk around or something. Be sure to come back here before nightfall."

The two children nodded and left the mansion immediately. "Yasuko, you knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

Yasuko only grinned and continued walking down the street. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we visit that Izanagi guy?"

Naruto's mood suddenly changed. "That's not a bad idea." The two walked over to the weapons shop near the village center. Naruto walked inside, Yasuko following quickly behind. "Hello?"

"I'll be right there," said a familiar voice. An old man came out from the back of the shop, carrying a large box. He placed it on the counter and looked up at the two children. "I haven't seen you two around here before. Visiting the village?"

"You could say that," said Yasuko.

"So, what brings you two here?" asked Izanagi.

"Um," started Naruto, "I need a new whetstone for my katana."

"Hm, well I'm gonna have to see your katana to see if you need a rough, medium, or finishing stone." Naruto unsheathed his katana and placed it on the counter. Izanagi looked at the katana for a long time. "Naruto…"


End file.
